Gun mounting



March 21, 1944. G. s. SELMAN GUN MOUNTING Filed Oct. 17, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet l 1 ATTORNEY.

arch 21,1944.

G. S. SELMAN GUN MOUNTING 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1941 INVENTORMW ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 21, 1944 we e GUN MOUNTING George SidneySelman, Hythe, England, assignor v t to Hubert Scott-Paine,

England Hythe, Southampton,

Application October 17, 1941, Serial No. 415,376 In Great Britain April11, 1940 1 Claim. ,(CI. 89-37) This invention concerns improvements inor relating to a mounting for .light guns such as machine guns, whichmounting is of the kind wherein the gun is mounted on a ring in such amanher that its angle of elevation may be adjusted,

which ring is rotatably mounted on an annular support. In such anarrangement the gunner is stationed behind the gun within the annularsupport and it is usual to pivot the gun near the middle thereof so thatit is substantially in neutral equilibrium. There is therefore asubstantial length of the gun extending across the ring when the gun isat low elevation. With such an arrangement when selecting the size ofthe annular support, allowancemust be made for the length of the gunandfor the space to be occupied by the gunner behind it. The annularsupport is thus unnecessarily large for elevated positions of the gun.The object of the present invention is to provide a gun mounting whichenables the size of the annular support to be reduced.

According to this invention a gun mounting of the kind referred to ischaracterized in that a gun holder is provided with a joint arranged topermit the adjustment of the angle of the elevation of the gun, and isalso provided with an adjustable mounting on said rotatable ringarranged to permit movement of the joint from a position outside saidring to a position inside the ring and vice versa. It will beappreciated that with this arrangement when the gun is used atcomparatively low elevations the holder may be adjusted so that thejoint is disposed outside the annular support, thus enabling a smallerannular support to be employed, and yet providing sufficient roombetween the rear end of the gun and the end of the annular support. Inorder to enable the gun to be swung into a position for high elevation,the holder is adjusted so as to bring the joint within the annularsupport. Since in elevating the gun to this position the rear end of thegun is swung downwardly within the annular support, there is ample roombetween it and the edge of the support for the gunner.

The aforesaid adjustable mounting for the gun holder comprises anupright crank arm, the upper end of which is rotatably mounted in thegun holder and the lower end of which is rotatably secured on said ring.

The aforesaid adjustable mounting is preferably provided with means forlocking the gun holder either inside or outside said ring. When suchlocking means are provided they may be operated by a remote controlpreferably located 1 on the butt of the gun.

The following is a description of one form of the gun mounting accordingto this invention for supporting two machine guns .on a turret,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the gun mounting and the top part of theturret.

. Figure 2 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1 with theguns and associated parts romoved;

Figure 3 is a fragmental section on the line 3:c3r of Figure 1 on anenlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 400-49: of Figure l on an enlargedscale.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the crank arm mounting for the gunholder.

Figure 6 is a view looking from the right of Figure 5, and

Figure '7 is a plan view of the locking plate on the line lrlr of Figure5.

The turret !8 is cylindrical in form and has secured within its upperedge a ring l l of channel section as shown in Figure 3. A wood packingI2 is arranged to rest on an annular plate 13, the outside of said ringsupporting a fixed slip-ring casting M. The fixed slip-ring is providedon its outer edge with a downwardly-directed flange IE which embracesthe wood packing and meets the annular plate l3' at the top of theturret, and is provided on its inner edge with an upwardlydirectedflange ll. As shown in Figure 4, the outer face of the upwardly-directedflange is formed with a V-shaped ball-race groove I8. The slip-ring isfixed against rotation by means of bolts l5 which pass through it,through the wood, the plate l3 and ring II at the top of the turret. Arotatably slip-ring I9 is associated With the first said ring and incross-section is roughly in the shape of an inverted U. The upwardlyextending flange H on the fixed slip-ring is arranged to be locatedwithin the channel formed by the U-shaped ring and a second V-shapedball-race groove 28 is formed in that part of the U-shaped ring which isdisposed opposite the first said ball-race groove. A number of balls Mare located between the fixed and moving races and are spaced apart by aspacing.

member in the form of a perforated strip of metal 22 bent to circularform. A screwed plug (not shown) is provided in the outer race to enablethe balls to be inserted. A number of grease nipples (not shown) arealso arranged to extend through the outer portion of the U-shaped ring.

In order to render the bearings, thus formed, grease-proof anddirt-proof, a leather strip 23 is secured to the inner face of theupwardly-extending flange I! of the fixed ring, the end of which stripis arranged to bear against the inner flange of the U-shaped ring l9.Similarly, a second leather strip 24 is secured to the outer flange ofthe U-shaped ring and is arranged to engage a part of the fixed ring l4.In order to prevent the U-shaped ring [9 from rotating when not in use,it is provided with an upwardlyextending stud 25 (see Figures 1, 2 and4) which is arranged to be engaged by a slotted end of a clip 26 whichis hinged at 2'! to the outside of the fixed ring I 4, which slotted endof the clip is clamped by a thumb-screw 28 on the said stud.

The gun holder is secured on one side of the rotatable ring andcomprises an upright bearing member 29. A crank arm 30 is arranged withits lower end 3| in said bearing member and is provided with a flange 32which is supported by ball bearings 33 on a flange 9 secured to the topof the bearing member (see Figure The upper end 34 of the crank arm isprovided with a socket in which is rotatably mounted the shank 35 of aforked member 36. The forked member is retained in the socket by aquick-release clip 31; a hooked end 38 of which is arranged to engage acollar 39 formed on the arm end 34. The clip is movable longitudinallyagainst the action of the spring 40. Pivotally mounted in the forkedmember is a cross arm 4!. A machine gun is mounted on each end of thecross arm 4| by means of a circular strap 42 having lugs 43 bored toengage and swing on a journal 44 formed on the cross arm 4|. A flange 9is secured by a sleeve joint and by dowel pins 45 to the top of theupright bearing 29 and is formed with two niches 46 (see Figure 7). Alockin pawl 41 is arranged to extend through a slot in the flange 32 ofthe crank arm and is engageable with either of said niches. The lockingpawl is spring-pressed towards an engaging position by a spring 48. Theniches are so disposed that the crank arm 3|] can be locked either withits upper end lying above the space inside of the slip-ring or in aposition outside said slip-ring. The aforesaid locking pawl is moved bymeans of an operating lever (not shown) mounted on the gun butt andconnected by a flexible sheathed cable 49 to the pawl. A cable adjuster50 is mounted on a part of the cranked arm.

When not in use, each gun may be retained in an elevated position bymeans of an elastic rope 5| having a hook 52 at one end to engage thetrigger guard 53 and at the other other end a shackle 54 which engages aring 55 secured to the inside of the turret. Secured to the rotatablering opposite the gun mounting is a curved backrest 56 for the gunner.Also secured to the ring, to the left of the gun mounting, is a handle51 by which the ring may be rotated.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the featuresherein specifically illustrated and described but can be carried out inother ways Without departing from its spirit.

What is claimed is:

A mounting for light guns comprising a rotatable turret ring, an uprightbearing member secured to said turret ring and provided with twodiametrically located niches, a crank arm having its lower end rotatablysupported in said bearing member, gun supporting means rotatably mountedon the upper end of said crank arm, and a manually releasable lockingpawl pivotally mounted on said crank arm and cooperating with the nichesin said upright bearing member, whereby said crank arm may be rotated insaid bearing member and locked with its upper end lying above the spaceinside of the turret ring or in a position outside of said turret ring.

GEORGE SIDNEY SELMAN.

